May 13, 2013
Read the May issue of Hawk Talk Monthly
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Random thoughts on Mother’s Day 2013…
Don’t forget to call your mom and/or give that mom in the house a hug this morning.
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Jack Dahm’s Iowa baseball Hawkeyes made it two straight over Michigan State yesterday at Duane Banks Field. You can read about their 2-1 victory HERE. Iowa will be looking for the sweep today at 1 p.m. It’s also Seniors Day. Join us if you’re looking to enjoy a little sunshine…finally.
And, at the end of the day – 9 p.m. Central time – dial up ESPNU on your television. That’s when the NCAA will reveal the field for this year’s softball national championship. Marla Looper’s Iowa softball Hawkeyes are squarely on the bubble. Let’s home their day ends with smiles. Click HERE for more details.
Iowa vs. Notre Dame in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Yeah. I like the sound of that, a lot. Perhaps the two teams will have so much fun that the head coaches will talk about a home-and-home-and-home-and-home-and-home-and-home? I think you get the point. This is one of those that, on the surface and from afar – and, trust me, I am far, far away from the decision-making when it comes to our schedule in men’s basketball – that seems like a no-brainer. Let’s see what happens. In the interim, let’s make sure Carver is rockin’ when the Irish pay it a visit.
We watched the moved, “Skyfall” last night. You know, the latest Bond, James Bond, thriller. It was good.The sky is falling! The sky is falling! No. 1… So we learned this week that Iowa would not need to place a call to its good friends at Musco Lighting this season. Disappointing? Yes. Is the sky falling? No. As you know, I’m a half-filled-glass kind of guy, so my best case scenario is that the games in October that I thought might find their way into prime time now land in one of the two 2:30 p.m. slots available on those game days. If so, our fans will get the pre-game tailgating time they enjoy, our football program will get the solid television audiences it needs from a recruiting perspective, and everyone in black and gold will get the opportunity to see the score of an Iowa win scroll across the bottom of the television screen a 40 or 50 or 60 times while they watch the day’s nightcaps.
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Iowa vs. Notre Dame in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Yeah. I like the sound of that, a lot. Perhaps the two teams will have so much fun that the head coaches will talk about a home-and-home-and-home-and-home-and-home-and-home?
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The sky is falling! The sky is falling! No. 2… Lots written about the art of football scheduling this past week. I chalk much of this up to the “I slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night,” effect, e.g. I got a good night’s sleep so I’m pretty sure I’m an expert at everything this morning. Lots of “expert opinion” this week from “experts” who are welcome to share their opinion – they have the right to do this in our great country – and do so boldly and confidently, bolstered not by fact or experience or knowledge or many other things that are, in fact, relevant, but by the simple notion that they read something online and that they slept the night before in a Holiday Inn Express…and by virtue of this they truly believe they know what they’re talking about. Few do…and, from where I sit, even those don’t truly have a full grasp of all that is going on under the hood. The fact is this stuff isn’t brain surgery, but there a lot of moving parts…and, yes, much of it does involve generating the revenue necessary to operate a broad-based intercollegiate athletics program committed to winning, graduating, and doing it right.
As always, lots of great video in HERE including a look at the latest addition to the “24 Hawkeyes to Watch” series that also includes editorial that can be read HERE.
I’m not a big fan of the NBA, so I’m probably not extremely qualified to comment on this, but I don’t think it’s in neither Derrick Rose’s best interests nor the long-term interests of the Chicago Bulls for him to lace it up this spring. Just my two cents. Here’s a little more on this compliments of the New York Times: HERE.
The Hawkeyes staged their annual Seniors Banquet in Des Moines earlier this week and as always, it was great to visit with some of our state’s top business and community leaders as they gave time to 50 or so soon-to-be graduated Hawkeyes advice and, perhaps, a job or two. The night’s highlights included the presentation of a souvenir jersey to the Governor Terry Brandstad and Joe Chmelka of the Polk County I-Club – two great friends of the University of Iowa and the Iowa Hawkeyes. You can read a little about the event HERE.
UI decathlete Kyle Reid had a good day – err, a really good day – yesterday at the 2013 Big Ten Conference Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships in Columbus, Ohio. You can read about it HERE.
The Hawkeyes aren’t listed among this really early prediction of participants in 2013-14 bowl games: HERE. I’m also going to save this list. I have a pretty good hunch there will be more incorrect predictions than correct predictions including, of course, the fate of the good guys in black and gold.
And, lastly, as a baseball fan, I liked this one from the Wall Street Journal: HERE.GH!